Panama reputation at stake – Guild

PANAMA’S Chamber of Commerce has come down hard  on the government over last week’s six-hour terminal blackout and the resulting chaos for thousands of stranded passengers.

In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, Sep. 24 it called on the government to carry out all the “investments that are required” in the Airport and the rest of public entities that provide services.

“If not,” said the chamber “we are playing with the country’s reputation and the quality and availability of services for our fellow citizens. “

A short circuit in a transformer transfer switch, left the airport without electricity for six hours affecting about 20, 000 passengers in Panama and other countries.

What happened at Tocumen International Airport last week, beyond  the cost  of the crisis and the impact on the image of our country, is a call for attention on the urgency to strengthen state-owned enterprises called to provide a public service in our country, something that, as the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama, we have indicated in innumerable occasions” emphasized the guild.

“It is unacceptable that, only when such incidents occur, the need to attend entities such as the Electric Transmission Company, S.A., the National Aqueducts and Sewers, (IDAAN)  Mi Bus, Panama Metro, S.A. and now Tocumen,  S.A., among others.

The problems faced by some of these important companies have been ignored in the past and can be remedied through genuine dialogue in collaboration with the private sector, ” the statement added

This week, the Director of Tocumen S.A., Carlos Duboy, ruled out that the outage at the country’s main air terminal was caused by the lack of maintenance to the electrical system.